The subject matter disclosed herein relates to gel comprising environmentally friendly gelators and method of producing such gels. The recent ban of trans-fats and evolving discussion on the safety of saturated fats has opened the floor to healthful oils and novel oil structuring agents. Medium-chain (C8-C12) triglyceride fats and oils have been demonstrated as viable potential alternatives to long-chain fatty acyl oils in creating functional gels and composites for food, medical and personal care applications. As edible, personal care, and cosmetic oil mixtures depend greatly on the nature of the oil for their organoleptic, rheological, and functional properties, exploring applications of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oils may result in viable value-added formulations.
Towards the development of small molecule solutions to replace unhealthy trans-fat structuring agents, edible oil gels, known as oleogels, have piqued researcher's interests by modifying formulation rheology with low molecular weight gelators, or more simply, molecular gelators (MGs). While natural and synthetic polymers, mostly methylated and ethylated cellulose derivatives, have been demonstrated as viable oil structuring agents, the serendipitous discovery of small molecule self-assembly as a method for structuring solvents has lead to the development and study of numerous MGs. From gelator design to network assembly and characterization, the variety of self-assembled networks of MGs demonstrates an interdisciplinary effort to design functional MG systems for a myriad of solvents and liquid mixtures. Despite the popularity and functionality of MCT fats and oils, there are relatively few efforts focused on developing MGs to specifically gel this increasingly popular category of oils.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.